dodgy car - what to do?

lemonade

lemonade

lemonade

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Long story short, my dad went and bought a clocked car!

I don't want to give too much details about certain things on a public forum, but would like some advice on what would you do. Should he ask for his money back, bearing in mind the guy could 'run off' and not respond back, or take some other measures? already contacted trading standard and they said to contact the guy and ask for money back, but i'm worried that might scare/tip him off.

The only fortunate thing is the car wasn't four figure sum!

also while i'm posting anyone know the top impreza owners forum?

edit: changed the title
 
Is it a private seller? If he didn't know there is little you can do if it is.

Though to be honest if it was under a grand why care?
 
Wouldn't bother doing anything.

The guy can claim ignorance anyway and for a few hundred quid does it make a difference?

If he is happy with the car in every other way it makes no odds really, there may be a logical reason why the milage on the clocks is incorrect.
 
his a 'private' trader, and he knows exactly what his doing! *hint*

Even though it was under a grand it's still a fair lot of money, and my dad is really upset more probably cos i told him not to go but he still went, and i want this scum caught cos his doing the same to others and making money out of others misfortune.
 
What mileage is the vehicle showing and how much has it actually done? How did you find out about the vehicle being clocked?
 
lemonade said:
his a 'private' trader, and he knows exactly what his doing! *hint*

Even though it was under a grand it's still a fair lot of money, and my dad is really upset more probably cos i told him not to go but he still went, and i want this scum caught cos his doing the same to others and making money out of others misfortune.
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I know what i'd do but i cant recommend that to you.

Put it down to experience mate, better a 1k car than a 10k one.
 
Not going to give exact details for 'legal' reasons. But car is showing five figure miles when infact it is a very six figure, found out through electronic mot records.

Put it down to experience mate, better a 1k car than a 10k one.
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I know under 1k doesn't seem much, but were not exactly very wealthy and 1k was pretty much my dads budget for a car and he blew it all on a car that belongs in the scrapyard, god knows if theres anything else wrong with it, havent had time myself to check the car properly out yet.
 
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Polite request for money back with evidence that the car isnt what its' meant to be.

This ^ will almost certainly fail. But you've tried it.

Next, threaten small claims court, and if needs be, initiate it. I think its only something like £25 or £35 to initiate a case.

If he doesnt respond to that, or that doesnt get you anywhere, local newspapers always like a good 'con man' story.

Yes he can plead ignorance on that car in question, but if you have proof of a refused refund, then he's a dishonest trader.
 
lemonade said:
Not going to give exact details for 'legal' reasons. But car is showing five figure miles when infact it is a very six figure, found out through electronic mot records.
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Ask for full refund. If he refuses, you'll have to take him to small claims court. You may also wish to inform the police, as what he is doing is criminal
 
How do you know it's definitely clocked? On a car worth less than £1000 I can't see what difference clocking is realistically going to make to it's value anyway.
 
other than being clocked is there anything actually wrong with the car? Guessing service history is lacking also?
 
I don't see how mileage is relevant here. As your Dad came away with the car, one can assume he is happy with everything else, so why does it matter?

Regardless of whether the vendor knew it was clocked or not, he can easily plead ignorance.

Also, what legal reasons are there for you not telling us the mileages?
 
I Dont understand when people say 1k is not a lot of money.

In terms of buying a car i guess its not a lot to spend on one but 1k is a lot of money regardless what you spend it on.

The fact he's been sold a car which has been tampered with and sold by a private trader with out this trader doing the relavant checks he should be doing to enable him to sell a car for exactly what it is, the price paid has no relivance of he should just roll over and accept being mis sold a car.
 
The way I read this is that the guy is a private seller but is actually selling cars for profit and money and clocking them back.

I'd be inclined to call the guy and at least ask for some of the money back and to keep the car - if you are happy with the car it's better to try and get it for less due to the clocking.

After all it's gonna be harder to sell in the future.
 
Who's to say he's clocked it, at some point the dials could have failed and someones changed the whole cluster, he's purchased the car not knowing this and not checked the MOT records, hence he doesn't know the car is showing the wrong mileage, you didn't check and now you've been burnt.
 
WHAT!!! said:
I Dont understand when people say 1k is not a lot of money.

In terms of buying a car i guess its not a lot to spend on one but 1k is a lot of money regardless what you spend it on.

The fact he's been sold a car which has been tampered with and sold by a private trader with out this trader doing the relavant checks he should be doing to enable him to sell a car for exactly what it is, the price paid has no relivance of he should just roll over and accept being mis sold a car.
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Sub £1000 is not a lot of money for a car. If it happened to me, I'd go back with the printout from the VOSA site, if I came away empty handed I'd probably try small claims or just count my losses.
 
Yeah, on one of my 19 if you don't reset the millage trip properly it can jam - and prevent both tickers from turning.

Although at just over the 100k mark, I don't see the point in using this 'trick' :p
 
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